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Egypt's Next Step

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Pedestrians stroll along a walkway on the Nile River in Cairo. Nine months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is transitioning from a revolution to the messy process of creating a free nation in a way that is unleashing new voices, new ideas, new parties – and old dangers. As elections loom, questions about the military’s true intentions, the popularity of Islam, and whether democracy can actually take root are poised to be answered. A triumphant end to Egypt’s revolution could show what’s possible for other restive countries across the region.

Ann Hermes/Staff

Teachers protest outside the Ministry Council headquarters, demanding pay raises, increased government investment in education, and the dismissal of Ahmed Musa, current Minister of Education. Ann Hermes/Staff

A worker inspects a part for elevators in a basement business in Cairo. The country has been hit by a wave of strikes in protest of the military's rule. Ann Hermes/Staff

The military keeps guard against a teacher protest outside of the Ministry Council headquarters in downtown Cairo. Ann Hermes/Staff

Workers occupy Nahdet Samanoud Weaving, a government-owned textile factory outside the industrial city of El-Mahalla El-Kubra, on a protest and hunger strike. Veteran workers who earn about $120 per month are on strike for better wages and modern equipment at the factory. Ann Hermes/Staff

Sheikh Kamal Fayoumi, a labor activist in the textile city of Mahalla, is trying to organize a union. Here, he holds an award a labor rights group gave him in 2008. Ann Hermes/Staff

Students and activists gather outside The Center for Socialist Studies before a socialist political meeting in Cairo. One of the results of the revolution is an increased participation in the political process from Egyptians of all ages and economic backgrounds. Ann Hermes/Staff

Hala Talaat, a political activist who has been organizing teachers’ strikes across Egypt, speaks at a meeting of socialists in Cairo. Ann Hermes/Staff

Vendors sell clothing and books at an open-air market in Cairo. The economy has suffered in the wake of the revolution that began in January. Ann Hermes/Staff

An ancient statue outside of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo sits next to the burned remains of the former NDP ruling party headquarters. The NDP headquarters was set ablaze by protesters during the revolution. Ann Hermes/Staff

Two tourists from London relax outside the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, where just a few months ago the military was interrogating protesters. Tourism has been slow to revive in Egypt. Ann Hermes/Staff

From left, Mariam, Yassmin, Mai and Engy, all pharmacy students on vacation, visit the Cairo Tower. The students are all members of the Tadawo Association, an NGO in Cairo, consisting of 200 students from various universities who take on projects in health and social care, working to provide medical assistance to those who can't afford it. Ann Hermes/Staff

Pedestrians walk past revolutionary graffiti on the walls of a closed Kentucky Fried Chicken near Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. As part of the increased political participation, protests in Tahrir Square after Friday prayers have been a regular occurrence since the revolution. Ann Hermes/Staff

Egyptians rally near the UN building and US Embassy to show solidarity with Palestine in the Garden City neighborhood of Cairo. Ann Hermes/Staff

A boy runs along the Muqattam cliffs in the Manshiet Nasser slum on the eastern edge of Cairo, where residents live without basic services like water and sewers. Ann Hermes/Staff

Aya (c.), and her sister, Sabryn (l.), stand in the entrance of the home they live in with their mother in a slum in Manshiet Nasser, adjacent to a government housing project. According to many of the slum's residents living in the shadows of the housing project, they were promised rooms in the complex 3 years ago by government. Ann Hermes/Staff

Goats are herded along an abandoned railroad track near the Muqattam cliffs. The slum sits near the bulldozed site of a rock slide in 2008 which killed over 30 people. Along with a lack of basic services, residents live with the threat of another rock slide. Ann Hermes/Staff

Dusk falls on a makeshift housing site in a slum on the eastern edge of Cairo.Ann Hermes/Staff